Perfection is founded entirely on the love of God: "Charity is the
bond of perfection[1];" and perfect love of God means the complete
union of our will with God's: "The principal effect of love is so
to unite the wills of those who love each other as to make them
will the same things[2]." It follows then, that the more one
unites his will with the divine will, the greater will be his love
of God.

Mortification, meditation, receiving Holy Communion, acts of
fraternal charity are all certainly pleasing to God -- but only
when they are in accordance with his will. When they do not accord
with God's will, he not only finds no pleasure in them, but he
even rejects them utterly and punishes them.

To illustrate: -- A man has two servants. One works
unremittingly all day long -- but according to his own devices;
the other, conceivably, works less, but he does do what he is
told. This latter of course is going to find favor in the eyes of
his master; the other will not. Now, in applying this example, we
may ask: Why should we perform actions for God's glory if they are
not going to be acceptable to him?

God does not want sacrifices, the prophet Samuel told King
Saul, but he does want obedience to his will: "Doth the Lord
desire holocausts and victims, and not rather that the voice of
the Lord should be obeyed? For obedience is better than
sacrifices; and to hearken, rather than to offer the fat of rams.
Because it is like the sin of witchcraft to rebel; and like the
crime of idolatry to refuse to obey[3]." The man who follows his
own will independently of God's, is guilty of a kind of idolatry.
Instead of adoring God's will, he, in a certain sense, adores his
own.

The greatest glory we can give to God is to do his will in
everything. Our Redeemer came on earth to glorify his heavenly
Father and to teach us by his example how to do the same. St. Paul
represents him saying to his eternal Father: "Sacrifice and
oblation thou wouldst not: But a body thou hast fitted to me . . .
Then said I: Behold I come to do thy will, O God[4]." Thou hast
refused the victims offered thee by man; thou dost will that I
sacrifice my body to thee. Behold me ready to do thy will.

Our Lord frequently declared that he had come on earth not to
do his own will, but solely that of his Father: "I came down from
heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him that sent
me[5]." He spoke in the same strain in the garden when he went
forth to meet his enemies who had come to seize him and to lead
him to death: "But that the world may know that I love the Father:
and as the Father hath given me commandment, so do I; arise and
let us go hence[6]. Furthermore, he said he would recognize as his
brother, him who would do his will: "Whosoever shall do the will
of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother[7]."

To do God's will -- this was the goal upon which the saints
constantly fixed their gaze. They were fully persuaded that in
this consists the entire perfection of the soul. Blessed Henry
Suso used to say: "It is not God's will that we should abound in
spiritual delights, but that in all things we should submit to his
holy will[8].'' "Those who give themselves to prayer," says St.
Teresa, "should concentrate solely on this: the conformity of
their wills with the divine will. They should be convinced that
this constitutes their highest perfection. The more fully they
practice this, the greater the gifts they will receive from God,
and the greater the progress they will make in the interior
life[9]."

A certain Dominican nun was vouchsafed a vision of heaven one
day. She recognized there some persons she had known during their
mortal life on earth. It was told her these souls were raised to
the sublime heights of the seraphs on account of the uniformity of
their wills with that of God's during their lifetime here on
earth. Blessed Henry Suso, mentioned above, said of himself: "I
would rather be the vilest worm on earth by God's will, than be a
seraph by my own[10].''

During our sojourn in this world, we should learn from the
saints now in heaven, how to love God. The pure and perfect love
of God they enjoy there, consists in uniting themselves perfectly
to his will. It would be the greatest delight of the seraphs to
pile up sand on the seashore or to pull weeds in a garden for all
eternity, if they found out such was God's will. Our Lord himself
teaches us to ask to do the will of God on earth as the saints do
it in heaven: "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven[11]."

Because David fulfilled all his wishes, God called him a man
after his own heart: "I have found David . . . a man according to
my own heart, who shall do all my wills[12]." David was always
ready to embrace the divine will, as he frequently protested: "My
heart is ready, O God, my heart is ready[13]." He asked God for
one thing alone -- to teach him to do his will: "Teach me to do
thy will[14]."

A single act of uniformity with the divine will suffices to
make a saint. Behold while Saul was persecuting the Church, God
enlightened him and converted him. What does Saul do? What does he
say? Nothing else but to offer himself to do God's will: "Lord,
what wilt thou have me to do[15]?" In return the Lord calls him a
vessel of election and an apostle of the gentiles: "This man is to
me a vessel of election, to carry my name before the
gentiles[16]."

Absolutely true -- because he who gives his will to God, gives
him everything. He who gives his goods in alms, his blood in
scourgings, his food in fasting, gives God what he has. But he who
gives God his will, gives himself, gives everything he is. Such a
one can say: "Though I am poor, Lord, I give thee all I possess;
but when I say I give thee my will, I have nothing left to give
thee." This is just what God does require of us: "My son, give me
thy heart[17]."St. Augustine's comment is: "There is nothing more
pleasing we can offer God than to say to him: 'Possess thyself of
us'[18].'' We cannot offer God anything more pleasing than to say:
Take us, Lord, we give thee our entire will. Only let us know thy
will and we will carry it out.

If we would completely rejoice the heart of God, let us strive
in all things to conform ourselves to his divine will. Let us not
only strive to conform ourselves, but also to unite ourselves to
whatever dispositions God makes of us. Conformity signifies that
we join our wills to the will of God. Uniformity means more -- it
means that we make one will of God's will and ours, so that we
will only what God wills; that God's will alone, is our will.

This is the summit of perfection and to it we should always
aspire; this should be the goal of all our works, desires,
meditations and prayers. To this end we should always invoke the
aid of our holy patrons, our guardian angels, and above all, of
our mother Mary, the most perfect of all the saints because she
most perfectly embraced the divine will.